SAN FERNANDO CITY, Pampanga, Philippines — The Central Luzon Regional Development Council (RDC) has approved the proposed budget of P29 billion for infrastructure projects whose primary component is the Central Luzon Link Expressway (CCLEx) that will connect Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and the Pan-Philippine Highway in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija.

The proposed budget also covered the repair and rehabilitation of existing light stations or beacons in the coastal area of Bulacan, Pampanga and Bataan.

Earlier, the RDC endorsed the construction of the 63.9-km CLLEx that will connect Central Luzon’s major roads especially Tarlac City and San Jose City in Nueva Ecija.

Based on the plans, the first phase of the 28 km-long road with an estimated cost of P13 billion will link the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway terminus in Tarlac City and the Pan-Philippine Highway or Daang Maharlika in Cabanatuan City.

The 35.9-km second phase will link Cabanatuan City and San Jose City at an estimated cost of some P13 billion.

Zambales Gov. Jun Ebdane, who is a former Secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), said the proposed road network in Central Luzon is one of the primary solution to lessen travel time and boost local and foreign business as well as the tourist industry.

Pampanga Gov. Lilia G. Pineda, for her part, said once the projects are completed, her province should expect gains in local agriculture and the tourism industry as well as the creation of more investment opportunities.

Pineda said the projects will specifically benefit the vegetable-growing community in the mountainous Eata village of Nabuclod in Floridablanca as well as the tourism industry and the wetland cruise in the coastal towns of Sasmuan and Lubao.

Engineer Carmelito Dizon, head of the DPWH Project Management Office, said the expressway project will benefit not only Central Luzon but also northeastern provinces like Cagayan and Isabela.

He said once the CLLEx is completed in 2016, travel time between Metro Manila and the provinces in the eastern seaboard of Luzon will be faster, safer and more predictable.

It will also decongest traffic in Bulacan as vehicles going to eastern North Luzon will instead use the North Luzon Expressway, Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway and CLLEx, Dizon added.

The RDC approved at least 15 landmark resolutions and endorsed for budgeting three major infrastructure projects in the region during the full council meeting held in Bulacan on Wednesday.

The RDC said the resolutions and infrastructure projects are long overdue.

Central Luzon used to enjoy economic prominence until the devastation brought by a powerful earthquake and the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo which led to the withdrawal of US bases more than 20 years ago.

Some of the landmark resolutions approved and endorsed by the council include requiring full compliance of business establishments in the region to secure clearances from the Social Security System (SSS), PhilHealth, and the
Pag-IBIG fund before the issuance of a mayor’s permit; endorsement of the Central Luzon component of the national greening program, and inclusion of the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) regional director as non-voting member of the council.

The RDC also approved and endorsed the proposed change in scope and increase in coast of the Pinatubo Hazard Urgent Mitigation Project which used to address only the flooding problems in Pampanga.

After a deliberation, the council amended the scope of the project which now covers Bulacan, Bataan, Zambales and Tarlac as local officials claimed that flood waters from Mt. Pinatubo contributed to flooding in their localities during the rainy season.

While the above projects require billions of pesos, the council also approved and endorsed resolutions to be implemented by all local officials in the region that require less expenses.

These are the expansion of the membership of the RDC Special Committee on Solid Waste Management (SCSWM); the creation of the committee’s technical working group that will be tasked to study, analyze and propose amendment to enhance the implementation of the Republic Act 9003 or the ecological Solid Waste Management Act.

The RDC also enjoined all governors, mayors, and barangay chairmen in the region to conduct simultaneous regular clean-up activities every first Saturday of the month.

RDC-III Chairman Oscar Rodriguez, the mayor of the City of San Fernando in Pampanga, said the SCSWM’s resolution on simultaneous clean up in the region is the most notable and doable resolutions they approved.

Rodriguez said the region needs regular clean up activities to reduce waste production and conserve the environment.